Former congressman criticized for tweet many believe directly threatened President Obama

People across the country were shocked, outraged, and deeply saddened by the coordinated attacked on police officers in Dallas during a protest against police violence on Thursday night that left five law enforcement officials dead and six more wounded. As thousands upon thousands reacted on social media, one tweet in particular has drawn considerable attention.

Shortly after the shooting, former Republican congressman and current conservative radio host Joe Walsh tweeted, and then deleted, what many have construed as a direct threat against President Barack Obama.

Walsh's tweet quickly engendered significant blowback from people who were, understandably, pretty touchy about things that could be read as encouraging people to commit acts of violence against public officials.

In the face of criticism, Walsh, who represented a district in the northwest Chicago suburbs from 2011 to 2013, deleted the tweet and posted a defense of himself in its place, insisting he didn't intend his original message to be read as a threat.

I wasn't calling for violence, against Obama or anyone. Obama's words & BLM's deeds have gotten cops killed. Time for us to defend our cops.

“As I told [Dallas] Mayor [Mike] Rawlings, I believe that I speak for every American when I say that we are horrified over these events and that we stand united with the people and the police department in Dallas,” the president continued.

While many have expressed anger about Walsh's comment, there is always another option.

I think we've probably given Joe Walsh more than his fair share of attention for the evening.

This article contains graphic video that might be triggering for some people. With thousands of people protesting across the country in the wake of the police shooting deaths of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile, the scene in Dallas turned frightening Thursday night when multiple shots rang out, causing people to flee and officers to take cover.